I climbed up the stairs, cursing why there had to be so many. I would usually bound two at a time up these wooden stairs at the thought of a night with my girlfriend. But tonight something was slowing me down. Like a constant weigh pressing down on me, not allowing me to move any faster than a step at a time. As far as I remember Audrey was fine, she hadn't said nor done nothing to worry me. In fact she had done the opposite. Especially that little thing she does when... Maybe it's best not to think of that.
As I turned the corner to the second flight of stairs Joey started to creep slowly into my thought, gently pushing Audrey in the background. She'd left the bar earlier than the rest of us; she had wanted to go for a walk alone for a while. No one argued with her, it was something she did now and again, Usually around the times when Dawson had called. To my knowledge though he hadn't rang for about two weeks. Then it hits me like a bolt of lightening. Its an anniversary of a her mother's death. How could I be so forgetful? I vow to make it up to her tomorrow when I see her.
The corridor along to the girl's dorm room is dimly lit and I try so carefully to be quiet, it's getting late and despite the reputation students have, this lot are silent. The door is unlocked as usual, ready for my regular late night visits. I sneak quietly in and tip toe to Audrey's bed as to not wake Joey. Audrey and me together is probably the last thing she'd ever want to find. My hands glide along the bed in the darkness, trying to find the curves of my girlfriend's body. But the bed is strangely made and no one lies. It is then that I hear the sound of running water. Oddly we had never done it in the shower before. I don't even check with the sleeping Joey where Audrey is and assume it is her who is showering.
When I opened the door I expected to see Audrey, with the curtain pulled back, grinning seductively at me, a cheeky glint in her eye but instead I find a lone figure slumped on the floor behind the curtain. I call out Audrey's name but my only reply is sobs. Pulling back the curtain, it is not Audrey I find, but Joey.
Crying, naked and freezing. My first reaction is to reach out and hug her. "Jo, what's wrong?" But I get no reply. I notice a bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. I switch off the shower and make a grab for it. Gently raising Joey to her feet I wrap her in the pale blue fabric, covering her naked body. She still shakes uncontrollably as I guide her to her empty bed. Audrey has left my mind.
As she sits and cries in my arms my mind is a jumble with all the things that could have caused this level of upset. Bad news from Bessie or from Dawson. Bad grades in a test. The tragic meaning today holds for her. Maybe she does this every year, behind closed doors where no one can see Josephine Potter, the independent, sarcastic, strong person we know, break down.
The sobs begin to die down, and her erratic breathing starts to return to normal I pluck up the courage to ask her what has caused this, at the same time mentally vowing to kick the shit out of them if any guy has hurt her. When she uttered the whisper, "Pacey I found a lump", my world, just like her must of when she stood in that shower, came crashing down around me.